In my work as a tutor working with unaffiliated families, one challenge I've repeatedly encountered is the lack of a Torah scroll for use during the Shabbat when a young person is called to read from Torah for the first time. Since most of my B'nai Mitzvah/Simchat Mitzvah students are not affiliated -- their families are not dues-paying members of a synagogue -- they are often turned down by local rabbis when they go looking for a Torah scroll to borrow for the service.

One the one hand, I understand synagogues which have "residency" requirements. My home shul does, requiring families to be members for at least three years prior to the big event, and the child needs to be enrolled in religious school (or a local Jewish day school). When an unaffiliated family asks the rabbi of a local shul to borrow (or even rent) a Torah scroll for a day, that's a Torah scroll that won't be read at the shul on that Shabbat. My shul has just two scrolls, and sometimes, depending on the reading that week, we will take out and read from each of them in turn. Even for a synagogue that has several scrolls, loaning or renting a Torah is a risky thing. A handwritten, Kosher Torah scroll costs tens of thousands of dollars to purchase, a few thousand more to maintain over the decades of use, and its loss would not be easy for a synagogue community to absorb.

On the other hand, I believe that no one should be denied the experience of reading from a Torah scroll for the first time. Because that first time can lead to more times, to more involvement in Jewish communal life, to more curiosity and a devotion to learning. So I've taken a different approach.

What if the scroll is printed on heavy paper, rather than handwritten by a professional scribe on animal parchment?Putting aside the reasons a synagogue chooses to use a Kosher scroll -- keeping Jewish scribes employed (yes, that's actually a thing), keeping things real, whatever -- what if instead of honoring the scroll for being a kosher scroll, we instead honor the story itself? Then the mode of transmission doesn't seem quite so important, and therefore needn't be so restricted.

Now, I love the mystery of ritual as much as anyone else. I think that, given the choice between reading aloud from a Torah scroll or from a bound book, I'd rather read from the scroll. But as an Off-The-Grid specialist, I don't have access to a kosher scroll, either (and in fact, some rabbis are not super-thrilled with my dedication to opening more doors for the unaffiliated, but that's another blog post).This summer, the family of a student offered to purchase a non-kosher scroll, printed on heavy paper and glued to wooden poles so that their child would have a scroll to read from -- and then, in exchange for a few of the lessons, to give me the scroll to keep for use with future students.I was deeply moved by this offer and accepted it humbly.Then, I set about making a proper ark for my scroll. Because even a non-kosher scroll deserves to have a place of honor. The story is still kosher, right?

So here's what I came up with. it's made from assorted license plates, an abandoned wooden planter box, hinges and other hardware that came from my shed or from a local house parts recycler, and some paint that was left over from my time at the bike shop. It took some figuring out, and some modifying when I realized too late that the box wouldn't quite fit the scroll (I too one end apart, rebuilt it and added a "roof" made from a license plate). But in the end, it makes a fine, and a wonderfully whimsical, "SO Portland" home for my little Torah scroll. I couldn't have asked for it to turn out any better. And I am grateful to the family whose bright idea inspired me to make it.

My gender-fluid B'nai Mitzvah student has been challenging me to consider the evolution of language. At the same time, their mom has struggled with the pronouns, and with what it means to be the parent of a very bright, inquisitive 12-year-old who is so clear on the fact that their life doesn't neatly fit into one of only two genders.So the lesson yesterday was less about Hebrew and more about how we name and identify each other. (I am grateful to my transgender nephew, a smart, thoughtful young man whose transformational story was a wonderful example to call upon for this family. Thank you, Joseph.)

Here are a few of the lessons we looked at yesterday.

Dear Mom: Don't stress if it takes you awhile to sort out the pronouns. It's completely understandable. You carried this child inside you for nine months, then when it came into the world and was inhabited by a soul, you were the first person privileged to be a witness to/nurturer of that process. You grew up in an era before anyone could have considered that more than two genders were possible. Give yourself a break and pat yourself on the back for accepting the beautiful soul that is your child -- in any package -- with immense and unconditional love. Applaud their curiosity and brazenness, and learn from their fearlessness as they take on the world in ways that were not possible for you. at the same time, go ahead and keep being the Mom, guarding your baby from the wolves that would devour them. It's a tricky balance, especially when your child is twelve.

Dear child: Bravo to you for daring to live your life, with all of its messiness and uncertainty and giddiness and remarkable poise, completely out loud. You are inhabiting your life in ways that your mother and I could not have foreseen when we were twelve. You are helping to transform the way human beings use language. You are helping the adults in your life to see glimpses of a future where we focus again on the soul, and remember that the body is simply a miraculous vehicle for the soul to get around in during its time here on earth. There is an amazing truth to your journey. And there is an impatience that comes with the journey, common to all twelve-year-olds who are chomping at the bit to bust out and live life to the fullest.But in your zest and impatience, please remember that your folks grew up in a time that was different, more scared and closed-off, and it will take time for your Mom to deal with the pronouns and all the other hallmarks of having a child who lives in an freer and more open society. Please be kind and patient with your folks. The world they grew up in, and the risk-takers that shook it up at the time, paved the way for the world you get to live in today. You stand on their shoulders. Never forget that, because it's a debt you will only ever be able to pay forward. So be kind while we all wait for the day when the light bulb goes off and everyone gets the pronouns right as if it was never an issue. That day WILL come.

Meanwhile, thank you to this remarkable family for allowing me to be a fly-on-the-wall during this time of preparation, for what I've suggested -- and they've agreed -- will be called a celebration of Simchat Mitzvah -- the joy of the commandments. Dear T, you will be called to the Torah in November as One Who Takes Delight in the Mitzvot, because on that day five months ago when you demanded to know, in your own words, "What is UP with God?", you claimed the mitzvot, and Torah, for your own. Because after all, that is the question we Jews have been asking for over five thousand years. What IS up with God? And how do we use the answers to help us figure out what's up with US?

I look forward to learning more from and with you on the way to your Simchat Mitzvah.And I am so grateful that I get to do this work of helping each Jewish family find their own doorway into Jewish life, so that in a sense they will no longer be quite so "off the grid", AND so their journeys can inform the whole Jewish community for the better.

Now that the campaign is done and I'll be able to go into the studio, I have a bit of time to get a jump-start on making some of the perks that people selected during the campaign.
Of course, they're all made from recycled bits. Because that's just how I am.
First up -- the 15-plus yaddot (Torah pointers). Each is hand made from a bicycle spoke and finished with brake ferrules or adjusting barrels. And if you think it's easy to bend a steel spoke by hand, over and over and over again, check this out.

All so I can make one of these. A bunch of times.

So now you all know what keeps me off the streets at night when I'm not playing out.Next up: Candlesticks.